Baby Puckett on the Move!

Well, for the past week and a half I have been able to feel our little one moving around inside of me. A pretty cool feeling! It's amazing to think that a living being is growing inside of me and developing more and more every day. How can people not believe that God is sovereign over all? I can't understand how one can look at the creation of human life and not recognize Him at work.
On Wednesday I actually had my hand on my belly and felt a good kick! By the time Mark put his hand on my belly there was no more kicking to be had:( Hopefully he'll get to feel baby Puckett moving soon! I'll post a new picture soon... my belly is growing!

A few thoughts

I've been working in OB/GYN for about 2 weeks now. The benefits of seeing Beth more often at work are obvious since she works exclusively in the labor and delivery unit, but it has caused me to think even more about our impending parenthood.

One of the biggest things I learned in medical school was simply to be in awe of the design of the human body. I remember thinking throughout my entire gross anatomy course how amazing it is that our bodies are so intricately designed to work so beautifully. I remember specifically dissecting the heart and holding it in my hands, struck by the glory of God's intentional design in our bodies. Add to this the biochemical events that take place on a millisecond and nanometer level to keep each and every cell in our bodies from spontaneously disintegrating and you have a true masterpiece.

Even greater is the awe of developmental biology. The infinite number of events that must take place to produce a healthy, living human are astounding - a true reason to be thankful for each and every time it happens. And to praise God. I honestly do not understand how any person could look at the intricacies of the fully developed body and the delicate process of development and not be convinced that only a Creator with purposeful intelligent design could create such a beautiful thing.

A few thoughts about this -

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
-Psalm 139:13-14

For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible...all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
-Colossians 1:16-17

My only response to this is to thank God for providing such life.

Boy or Girl?

Beth and I have finally decided that we will attempt to find out the sex of our child at our ultrasound scheduled for December 3rd. Of course, that all depends on our child cooperating with the ultrasound for good views! We really went back and forth for a long time, pondering the pros and cons of each side. One day I was praying for our child and was just thinking how nice it would be just to connect even now with our son or daughter on another level. I though of how much more specifically could I prepare physically, emotionally, and spiritually for our addition knowing which we will have. Certainly our greatest prayer is to have a healthy child that will grow to love the Lord, and we will be excited either way. So, in light of our decision we have a new poll for your votes, with an answer that none of us can control.

Getting a Belly!

Well, my midsection is filling out. Not quite as fast as I would like it, but definitely a noticeable change. My pants are starting to get a little snug, and soon I will be in maternity pants! I bought a pair in Greenville yesterday, and they are so comfortable. Everyone has told me that once I start wearing maternity clothes I won't want to go back to my prepregnancy clothes! I now know what they're talking about!

Here I am at 17 1/2 weeks.
Still no huge belly but definitely a little bump with my midsection filling out!
As many of you know, I have the remarkable talent of appearing pregnant when, in fact, I am not! Well, now that I AM really pregnant I can do this unashamedly when I want everyone to know I am pregnant. Unfortunately, I can still hold it all in and this belly isn't here to stay, yet! This is a preview for those of you who have not seen this talent in person. And, no, this is not a pillow or a ball under my shirt:) This is what I will look like soon, and I won't be able to hold it in!
I can't wait!

More ultrasound pictures!

One of the unwritten benefits of being a doctor is getting to play with the toys in your office. This includes spending an hour on a Saturday afternoon looking at your baby on the ultrasound machine. Let me tell you, tons of fun. I will quickly confess that my ultrasound skills are still in early development, but I was able to catch a few shots to show off our growing little one. I will also confess that while we haven't decided if we want to find out the sex, I was definitely looking for boy or girl parts. But, like I said, I'm still learning and every time I thought I saw something it turned out to be umbilical cord. Oh well. We did see good heart beats and took some rough measurements that seemed on par for where we should be. It was fun to see little arms and legs moving around, and it looked like he/she was either sucking a thumb or playing peek-a-boo with us. Enjoy!

The head is on the bottom, with the body on top of it, kind of leaning.Here is a side view of most of his/her body with a leg to the left.
Here's another body view with baby's chin tucked down. Good spine.

This one really didn't come out well. The black space in the middle is baby's heart beating.Here's baby holding his/her arm up toward his/her face.This is baby's arm and hand. We watched the hand open and close a few times like he/she knew we were watching and was waving.

More Belly Photos

Well, I have been slacking when it comes to posting belly pictures. Here are two more. As you can see, I still am not showing very much (but am gaining weight appropriately). However, right after I eat, I have a little belly and it makes me look more pregnant! Oh well, soon enough I will be showing and everyone will know I'm pregnant! As for now, I will continue to enjoy wearing my own clothes and postpone maternity clothes for an undetermined amount of time. I think that I shall just wake up one morning and realize my clothes no longer fit and that my belly finally looks pregnant!

14 1/2 weeks pregnant

16 1/2 weeks pregnant

More Gifts for Baby Puckett!

On Saturday, Baby Puckett received a package in the mail from Mark's grandma. In my excitement I almost opened it while Mark was a the hospital. Silly wife! Luckily I came to my senses in time and saved opening Baby Puckett's present until we had dinner with Mark at the hospital Saturday night! Grandma sent some special books, including Baby's First Bible and Baby's First Book of Prayers. She also sent God is My Song: The Land of Milk and Honey, which is a 2 book set with Baby's Book of Bible Songs coming from Psalms and Baby's Book of Bible Poems coming from Proverbs. We love these books because we'll be sharing God's love with our little one from before the time he or she is born. God is so good! Also included in the package was the softest little outfit that came all the way from Pascagoula, MS. How thoughtful! Thank you, grandma! Here are pictures of the sweet gifts:

Visit with Nana

My mom, Nana as my nephews call her, came down to visit this weekend and stayed from Friday until today after lunch. We had a wonderful time together, and I'm so grateful that she was willing to make the 16-hour round trip to come spend time with me. I kept her up past her bedtime on Friday and Saturday nights and she hit the sack pretty early on Sunday night! She even came to pilates class with me Saturday morning. Way to go, Nana! Mark was on call on Saturday and had to work the other days so he did not get to hang out with us much. Bummer! All in all, it was a refreshing weekend, and we ended her trip with a tour of labor & delivery and a sushi lunch. Thanks for visiting!